Highland Capital Management LLC Sells 2,550 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Highland Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 2.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,982 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,550 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson makes up 0.8% of Highland Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $13,610,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,834,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,453,978,000 after buying an additional 3,139,499 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 10.8% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,780,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,744,979,000 after acquiring an additional 1,831,751 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.5% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 14,374,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,100,427,000 after purchasing an additional 754,200 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 16.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,147,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,921,565,000 after purchasing an additional 1,829,257 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,014,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,171,357,000 after purchasing an additional 437,637 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on JNJ shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Daiwa America downgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, TD Securities cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.93.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of JNJ opened at $160.88 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $163.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.07. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $143.13 and a 1-year high of $168.85. The company has a market cap of $387.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.28, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.46%. The company had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.66 EPS. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 71.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,131,683.38. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.